USCIS

Went to USCIS to get fingerprinted this morning, which seems to have gone well. Met somewhat of a local "celebrity" in the New York adoption community (I would say so anyway). WAY back when we were rushing to meet the China deadline 3 years ago, I had found a contact name of someone at the Manhattan USCIS office from a couple different local Yahoo groups, Mr. Hernandez. I've read good things about him being helpful and all that.  We had contacted him by phone once or twice about expediting our paperwork (deadline was approaching fast) and we even drove into the city to go in person to the office back then. We didn't actual meet Mr. Hernandez then (even though we did ask for him), but I believe his assistant/co-worker had to get him to approve something for us and had disappeared into the office and came back with our fingerprinting appointment..FOR THAT SAME DAY! Only thing we had to do was drive as fast as possible back in the other direction to another location before they closed. LOL Which we did and managed to get our I171H in time to meet the deadline.

So anyway, back to today. This time our appointments were in a USCIS much closer to us. We got there early and were taken right away. Freddy went to the back of the room first where they did his.. then I went with another guy to do mine. We were a couple of sections apart but I could see him and heard him talking with the girl doing his fingerprints.  Another guy had gone over to the area where he was and they were all chatting and laughing, although I couldn't hear what they were talking about.  Then when my prints were done I sat back down and waited for him to get done. What I didn't realize was that he was already done but was chatting it up with the guy that walked over to his area. Then Freddy starts walking toward me the other guy disappears into an office and he was like "you know who that was right?"  And immediately I said "Mr. Hernandez?!?"  LOL Like I am old friends with the man or something and it could only possibly be him. LOL And it was! I was like why didn't you tell me!!  lol  So when he came back out of the office we went back to chat with him a little. He had remembered our names.. which is a pretty common name and FROM 3 YEARS AGO! What was really funny was that while Freddy was doing his fingerprinting and Mr. Hernandez had gone over there, he was actually the one that said to Freddy that he recognized the name and said to Freddy that Freddy probably knows him. And when he told him his name Freddy told him it sounded familiar, but it took him a minute to link it since he's in a different office, then it hit him. Then apparently, the guy doing my fingerprints said something funny and I laughed and Freddy told them "That must be my wife laughing at me for not immediately knowing who you are".  LOL  Ok so if I had actually heard what they were talking about I probably would have been laughing.  LOL

So we chatted a bit about the new adoption and about how he ended up in the new office due to USCIS centralizing it's process now and then left. I know this means nothing to anyone (unless #1 - You live in NY and #2 if you've been desperate to find a contact name at USCIS that can help you..AND came upon the name Mr. Hernandez. LOL) but I just wanted to document it here and I really did feel like I was meeting a celebrity.. LOL Oh my sad little world!  LOL  I did manage to resist the urge to ask for his autograph! A valid  I171H will have to suffice!